Improvement in friction-gears for harvesters



H. F. SHAW 8L G. F. SHAW. Friction Gear for Harvesters. No. 133,67'5:` Patented Demanar;

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IMPROVEMENT IN FRlCTlON-GEARS FOR HARVESTERS.

Specicationforming part of Letters Patent No. 138,675, dated December 3, 1872.

To all 'whom tt may concern:

y Beit known that we, HENRY F. SHAW and GEORGE F. SHAW, both of West Roxbury, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Friction-Gear for Harvesters, A Mowing-Maohines, and for other purposes, of which the following is a Specification:

The object of our invention is the production of a gearing for driving the cutter-bar of harvesters, mowing-machines, and for various other purposes, that may be runat a high rate of speed without the noise that is so objectionable in the machines now in use, which are driven by toothed gearing; to cheapen the construction as compared with spur-gearing, and

at the same time obviate the objectionable features of the friction-gearing that has been heretofore used for the purpose,viz., the great pressure upon the journals of the friotionrolls, which has always been a source of trouble when but one friction-roll was used with one driving-surface, invariably resulting in the failure of the device; and also the grinding action incident to running two conical rolls in contact with each other, and two drivingsurfaces when the-axis of one of said rolls is at right angles to the axis of the driving-'sh aft and it consists in the employment of two friction-rolls placed side by side, with their axes parallel to each other, a portion of their length at either end being made cylindrical and of equal diameter, and so mounted in suitable bearing in the frame that the outer surfaces of their cylindrical portions shall bein contact, while another portion of said rolls is made conical to correspond to the surface of a dat conical ring formed on thedriving wheel, which is secured rigidly to the axle, and also to a correspondingly beveled or conical ring, forming the rim of a wheel, which is fitted to the axle in such a manner that while it is com- I pelled to revolve therewith it is free to move endwise on said shaft, a spring being used to press said wheel hard against the friction-roll, saidV spring being so applied that its` tension may be increased or diminished at pleasure, said wheels being a distance apart equal to the sum of the diameters of the friction-rolls, and one of `said rolls carrying the crank which drives the cutter-bar. i

Figure l of the drawing is an end elevation of so much of aA mowing-machine as is necessary to illustrate our invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional plan; and Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the same With a portion of the frame and the friction-rolls shown in section.

A is the frame, mounted upon the axle B, upon one end of which is also mounted the wheel C, so fitted thereto that it may revolve freely thereon, while upon the other end of said axle is fitted and rigidly secured thereto the driving-wheel D. The wheel D is provided with a conical ring, a, concentric with the axis of the wheel and upon its inner face, said ring being turned true, and to fit the conical part b of the friction-roll b. The roll b is mounted in bearings c and d in the frame A in a position at right angles to the axis of the wheels C D, and has mounted upon its outer end the disk c, carrying the crank-pin f, to which one end of the pitman which drives the cutter bar is connected. Another frictionroll, g, is mounted, in bearings h and in the fran-1e A, parallel to and in the same horizon-` tal plane with the roll b, the front end of which does not project through or beyond the bearing h. A portion of the middle of each of the rolls b and gis made tapering or conical, as shown at b and g', while a portion of thelen gth of each upon either side of said conical portion is made cylindrical and of equal diameter, said cylindrical portions rolling in contact with -each other. E is a wheel having .a rim of the same diameter as the ring ce on the'wheel D,

yand of the same conical form, said wheel E being fitted to the axle B by means of a spline and key in such a manner that it must revolve with the axle B, while at the same time it is free to move endwise thereon, the conical face of the rim of said wheel being toward the drivingwheel D, and in contact with the conical part of friction-roll g, against which it is forced by the sprin g j, the tension of which may be varied at pleasure by moving the collar lupon the axle B, and securin g it in position by the setscrew m in an obvious manner. -The bearings for the journals of the friction-rolls b and g are made slightly oblong in ahorizontal direction to allow said rolls to accommodate themselves to the pressure applied thereto without subj ecting their journals to apressure which would be likely to cause them to heat and wear badlyin contact, all strain and friction are removedy from the journals of said rolls, and a very smooth and still-running gear is obtained that can be run at almost any desired speed without undue strain or Wear upon the journals, and Without grinding action upon the frictionrolls or the driving-surfaces, a perfect rolling contact being the result.

Other advantages of the employment of our improved gear are less cost and a greaterlen gth ofpitman, which may be obtained by having 4the crank so near the driving-wheel.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

l. The friction-rolls b and g provided with conical surfaces b and g', and having cylindrical bearing-surfaces at each end thereof, and arranged parallel to each other,` in combination with .two frictional driving-surfaces, D and E, one of which acts upon the roll b and the other upon the roll g, substantially as described. l Y

. 2. In combination with the axle B and carrying-Wheels G and D of a harvester, we claim the friction-rolls b and g, provided with con ical surfaces b and g', and having cylindrical bearingfsurfaces at cach end thereof, the adj ustable pressure-wheel E mounted upon said axle in such a manner that it is free to slide thereon in the direction of its length, and the spring j for controlling said pressure-wheel, all arranged and operating substantially as described, for the purposes specified.

Executed at Boston this 24th day of June, 1872.

- HENRY F. SHAW.

GEORGE F. SHAW.

Witnesses:

N. C. LOMBARD, S. A. Woon. 

